Kohima, July 16: Nagaland spends around ₹500 crore every year purchasing electricity from other states as it continues to face a widening gap between power demand and domestic generation, with officials warning that electricity theft and unpaid bills are worsening the financial burden on the Power Department.
According to officials, the state is unable to generate sufficient electricity to meet the growing demand of consumers, making it heavily dependent on imported power.
The department said rampant power theft and non-payment of electricity bills have emerged as major factors affecting its finances, resulting in significant revenue losses that hamper maintenance, infrastructure development and efforts to improve the quality and reliability of power supply.
Addressing concerns over higher electricity bills following the rollout of smart meters, officials said the new system accurately records actual electricity consumption. They attributed the increase in bills largely to greater use of appliances such as air conditioners, geysers, heaters and refrigerators, with many households consuming more electricity than they realise.
Officials also pointed out that older meters were, in some cases, allegedly tampered with or inaccurately read, allowing some consumers to pay less than their actual consumption. Smart meters, they said, have largely eliminated such practices by providing precise and transparent readings.
Meanwhile, field staff highlighted the operational challenges they face in restoring electricity, particularly in remote and difficult terrain. They said inadequate transport facilities often delay repairs during emergencies, heavy rainfall and landslides.
The workers appealed to the public to cooperate with frontline personnel and avoid blaming them for outages, saying they are working under difficult conditions with limited resources to restore power supply as quickly as possible.
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